


Laughter

by Imanerdandliketoread



Series: DBH Rarepairs Works 2019 [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Aro/ace gavin reed, Bad Puns, DBH Rarepairs Week, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Gavin Reed Redemption, Gavin Reed: disaster human, He tries to be a good pal and thats all that really matters, M/M, POV Connor, RK900 is called Rich, RK900 likes fish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 21:11:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20589182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imanerdandliketoread/pseuds/Imanerdandliketoread
Summary: Connor wants Rich to be happy. How does one do that when one's best friend and love interest rarely shows interest in anything? By taking him on a date to the aquarium of course! There's no way he could mess that up right? This otter be a perfect date! He'll just have to wait and sea!





	Laughter

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first oFISHially published fanfic! I think it is absolutely devastating how underappreciated this SHIP is, as there are so many directions it can go in! While I managed to post this on time on tumblr, I am posting this on here almost an hour past midnight on here because I am a walking disaster, very thorough, and today has been very busy for me. Constructive criticism is more than welcome and I hope you enjoy!

He had dressed up for their meeting today; at first he didn't know why. Then, he noted how his thirium pump seemed to stutter, his hands shake. 

He was… nervous. But for what? He had nothing to worry about while in Rich's presence. He was so… understanding. 

His hands fidgeted with the bottoms of his black suspenders, picking at imaginary lint. A crisp white, long-sleeve button up tucked into form fitting dress pants. He needed to impress Rich, more so than usual.

Impress Rich. Impress him? How do you impress someone who seems so unfazed by the world, so bored by all the small details that amaze you?  
He knew of one thing that fascinated Rich, sea creatures. 

Apparently, because his model was designed for Arctic military use, his system has cold insensitivity, at the cost of being susceptible to heat damage. Thus, discovering that some creatures have evolved to not only survive, but thrive in a low temperature, high atmospheric pressure environment piqued his interest.

Connor _adored_ that something made him so happy. And Connor _needed_ to see Rich smile like he sometimes does while rambling about new species of fish that had recently been discovered or fancy new coral reef restoration projects.

That is exactly why Connor made one of his first non-essential purchases of his life; $135 spent on two tickets for an in-depth, personalized tour of the aquarium would be worth every cent and more if it made Rich happy. 

Connor had to make this the best date—did he have the intention of having this be a date? Not at first, but a quick search of all the things he wanted to do with Rich—private outings, hand holding, maybe even cheek kisses—were things commonly associated with more intimate forms of relationships. Coming to the conclusion that further development in their relationship was, in fact, something Connor sought, had been more eye-opening than surprising. 

So in order to, as one website Connor browsed put it, woo Rich, he must act so that Rich associates him with positive experiences, therefore seeking his company more. A date at the aquarium would be perfect.

Connor had given Rich the location of a café just a block west of the aquarium, so as to keep his plans a surprise. To assure that Rich would remain clueless, Connor arrived at the café fifteen minutes ahead of their scheduled meetup time. 

As the final seconds ticked by, Connor noted the roaring of a motorcycle engine approaching; Rich was here!

Dressed in a loose black shirt and crisp tan shorts, Rich gracefully slid off the motorcycle, storing his helmet ing a small compartment. 

The left corner of his lips twitched up. "As wonderful as it is to see you Connor, I hope you didn't plan for our day to just be the coffee shop. In case you didn't notice, neither of us can eat."

Connor snorted. "Of course I didn't. Now, I will need you to close your eyes and not figure out where I'm taking you until I'm ready to show you." Rich silently raised an eyebrow. "I know, I know. It won't take too long and we'll be inside soon, alright?" 

Rich sighed dramatically before closing his eyes. Holding an elbow out for Connor to grab, he teases, "Whatever you do, don't make me walk into a pole or you'll regret it."

Connor beamed, placed a hand on Rich's forearm, and began leading him forward. 

Upon arriving at the aquarium, Connor allowed Rich to open his eyes. He let out a soft gasp as he gazed up at the deep blues and rich colors of the outside wall of the aquarium, covered in a vast expanse of ocean-themed murals. Blue eyes flicked over to look at Connor, as he muttered a soft "for me?" 

He looked so… delighted, shocked, stupefied. Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Connor had to look away before he blurted out something stupid. He only nodded in response. 

"Connor, I can't thank you enough. You have no idea how much this means to me," Rich slowly stepped closer to him, now standing only a few feet away.

Connor had to say something, quick. "Well, it's hard to ignore when you talk _a-boat_ how you love the ocean so much. I'm just _fishing_ that you'll enjoy this outing." Why. Why oh why did he go with ocean-themed puns? Rich was going to be mad, or leave, or—he was laughing. No, Rich wasn't just laughing, he was giggling.

His eyes had squished closed, his nose scrunched. Giggles grew into chuckles, until he was nearly hunched over laughing. 

Connor was astounded. He had never heard such pleasantly enthusiastic laughter from anyone, especially not Rich. Many humans advised against using puns as a method of wooing a love interest, but maybe they just don't understand how useful they are. This seemed like a good sign. Maybe. 

As Rich's laughter slowly died down, he shifted even closer to Connor. Smiling sweetly down at him, he reached a hand up to gently cup Connor's face, slowly stroking his left cheek. "I truly hope this isn't too forward of me, but if it's alright with you, I would like to kiss you." 

"Please," Connor whispered, tilting his head up more.

Rich nodded and leaned forward. Gently, he placed his lips on Connor's, and Connor stood on his toes to deepen the kiss. They stood there, absorbing each other's presence for several more moments, before Rich slowly leaned back. 

"I think I quite enjoyed that, what about you?" He murmured, gaze flickering between Connor's lips and eyes. 

"It's _of-fish-ial,_ I've fallen for you, darling." Connor grinned. 

Rich snorted, before pulling Connor in for one more kiss. "Let's get going, we wouldn't want to miss out on a fin-tastic date."

Connor laughed at Rich's poor attempts at keeping a straight face, before he joined in. 

Needless to say, the aquarium was oceans of fun. 

…

It was widely known across the precinct that Connor had made a new friend. He had a habit of rambling on and on about said friend to everyone. 

On a good day, even Gavin Reed would submit to listening to Connor drone on and on about how this mysterious Rich told such wonderous stories, or baked sweet treats for Connor to bring in to work the next day, or was just an all around swell fella. To make matters worse, if he was talking about Rich, he was grinning like a dumbass. 

It seemed to Gavin, for as bad as he was at identifying romantic attraction, that Connor had a crush. And obviously, as Connor's new best friend, it was his duty to tell him so. His only problem was how to approach Connor. 

Was this something he could be blunt about? Start off the conversation with "Hello Connor, why don't you get off your ass and tell that new pal of yours that you're head over heels for them?" He didn't think that would work.

For one, Connor was really fucking oblivious when it came to identifying emotions unless they were pretty obvious. Hell, the poor guy didn't know how to express his discomfort towards sixpence during the precinct-wide Halloween Horror Binge Spectacular, so it's not likely that he will have managed to figure out not only that he was attracted to a companion, but to tell said companion about it.

Another thing was that Gavin had learned early on that being blunt wouldn't often go smoothly with Connor, as he would either be overwhelmed or would be a snarky little shit. 

So bluntness was out of the question. Meaning that he would have to ease into the idea, patiently allowing Connor to connect the dots on his own, Gavin guiding him to the conclusion. 

Of course, Gavin managed to fuck it all up. Great.

"Hey uh Connor, ya got any tips on how to flirt with someone you like?" Very subtle Gavin, way to go. 

Connor's brow furrowed, LED flashing yellow. "I assume this is because you have found someone to be the object of your affections?" Gavin could only nod to avoid suspicion. "Hm, well from personal experience, I found that jokes and honesty work well. If that does not work, then you might be better off asking someone like Officer Miller or someone else in a long-term, committed relationship."

Wait what. Personal experience? "Uh tin can, when have you ever flirted with someone? Was there a particularly shiny coffee machine that caught your attention?" Gavin snickered at his own comment. Just because they were pals now doesn't mean that Gavin had to stop teasing him.

Now Connor looked even more confused. His LED flashed red before returning to a solid yellow. "Yes, I have been discussing with a majority of our coworkers my new partner. Do you not recall?"

"Con, I hate to break it to ya, but I have no clue who you're talking about."

"I have brought him up in eighteen of our conversations on the past two weeks alone. How could you forget about it? There are many instances in which we have conversed about the quality of Rich's baked goods alone."

Oh. Oh shit. "You two are already dating? I've been figuring out how to get you to ask him out for a week now! You jackass, you never mentioned you were together!" Gavin threw his hands up in the air before softly smacking his palms against his eyes and groaning. "How can I set you two up if you're already a couple?"

Connor huffed in response. "I apologise for the confusion, and it's nice to see that you care," at this, Gavin half-heartedly tried to argue, but Connor continued. "But I successfully woo'd Rich six and a half weeks ago. That is why I recommend jokes and honesty. It worked on him."

Gavin snorted. "Oh yeah? What hilarious jokes did you throw his way that had him sending heart eyes at ya?"

Connor smiled sweetly. "Ocean puns."

**Author's Note:**

> Uuuuh if you stuck around this far, feel free to check out my writing blog on tumblr, endoftheworldpaul. My current hyperfixations include DBH (obviously), the Last of Us, and the Sanders Sides, with hints of Miraculous Ladybug and Good Omens, but at this point, are there many blogs who don't at least dabble in GOmens? I am planning on writing a fic for every day of DBH rarepairs week this year, so if you wanna stick around and check out my other fics soon to come, I'd love to have ya! Have a merry time and stay safe kiddos!


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